The anniversary celebrates Doctor Who, not the episode that happened to air that day, any more than a Trek anniversary is overtly concerned about honoring 'Where No Man Has Gone Before' or, alternately, 'The Cage.' No one is going to be particularly interested in the idea of Number One or Doctor Piper appearing in an anniversary event.

In any case, we're going in circles. I'm not of the opinion that the original Doctor Who series is:
1) Any good.
2) Worth remembering, beyond little easter eggs that don't require me to actually watch any of the old episodes.
3) Beloved by any number of fans large enough to care about.

Since you and DJ think otherwise, we're unlikely to come to any kind of consensus.

The anniversary celebrates Doctor Who, not the episode that happened to air that day, any more than a Trek anniversary is overtly concerned about honoring 'Where No Man Has Gone Before' or, alternately, 'The Cage.' No one is going to be particularly interested in the idea of Number One or Doctor Piper appearing in an anniversary event.

In any case, we're going in circles. I'm not of the opinion that the original Doctor Who series is:
1) Any good.
2) Worth remembering, beyond little easter eggs that don't require me to actually watch any of the old episodes.
3) Beloved by any number of fans large enough to care about.

Since you and DJ think otherwise, we're unlikely to come to any kind of consensus.

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Out of curiosity, how much of it have you actually watched?

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In my younger years I watched quite a bit of Pertwee and Tom Baker on PBS. Returning to it as an adult was one of those rose-colored-glasses moments. When the revival was announced, I went back and tried some Tom Baker again, but it never held my interest.

If he is indeed in it, I hope they stick with the 8th Doctor's current look:

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Hmm. The problem with McGann being in his new look is that only die hard fans of the show know about it, while most viewers would only recognise McGann in his original costume, with all the flash backs and the memory of the 96 film). But a lot of people probably wouldn't recognise the 8th doctor if he wore a new get up unfortunately.

But personally, I like both outfits. I just think that Hurts costume incorporates both McGanns first costume and Ecclestones. McGanns new one wouldn't really do Hurt justice if you know what I mean.

But yeah, I think if any of them are returning, it's got to be McGann for a regeneration. I also heard that they might be doing a minisode prequel with McGann regenerating into Hurt, so I presume this is what the RT is hinting on. If this is announced, I'll probably look forward to this as much as the 50th itself, at least! McGann is one of my favourite doctors (second to be technical, with DT as my first), so if McGann returned, my two faves would be coming back for the special! Please make it so!

Isn't it really convinient, though, that Hurt's Doctor wears a combination of the Eighth and Ninth's costumes? Just saying - I don't remember, for instance, the Third Doctor wearing Second's pants and the Fourth's scarfs and/or hat, is all.

The anniversary celebrates Doctor Who, not the episode that happened to air that day, any more than a Trek anniversary is overtly concerned about honoring 'Where No Man Has Gone Before' or, alternately, 'The Cage.' No one is going to be particularly interested in the idea of Number One or Doctor Piper appearing in an anniversary event.

In any case, we're going in circles. I'm not of the opinion that the original Doctor Who series is:
1) Any good.
2) Worth remembering, beyond little easter eggs that don't require me to actually watch any of the old episodes.
3) Beloved by any number of fans large enough to care about.

Since you and DJ think otherwise, we're unlikely to come to any kind of consensus.

Click to expand...

Out of curiosity, how much of it have you actually watched?

Click to expand...

In my younger years I watched quite a bit of Pertwee and Tom Baker on PBS. Returning to it as an adult was one of those rose-colored-glasses moments. When the revival was announced, I went back and tried some Tom Baker again, but it never held my interest.

Click to expand...

Speaking as a new fan who's just finished the seven years of NuWho, I've gone back to OldWho with renewed interest - I'd seen Genesis of the Daleks just a while before I started series 4, because a friend told me that it was most important for that series finale, and he had a point.

When all things are said and done, I like the concept enough to keep on watching Doctor Who that I haven't seen. So far, I've seen a lot of Baker, a lot of Troughton, and a good deal of everyone else. But really, they're any different that the Davies/Moffat Who, because they're all Doctor Who. They were made for their time, and its really best to view them in context of their time.

(plus, some serials have new CGI sequences, allowing you to watch them that way, too - Ark in Space comes to mind in that regard)

But yeah, to say that OldWho was rubbish and NuWho is by comparison brilliant, is just silly. It reminds that guy that actually put the show on hiatus because it was "cheap and rubbish". Don't rmemeber his name, but many others around here surely do.

The anniversary celebrates Doctor Who, not the episode that happened to air that day, any more than a Trek anniversary is overtly concerned about honoring 'Where No Man Has Gone Before' or, alternately, 'The Cage.' No one is going to be particularly interested in the idea of Number One or Doctor Piper appearing in an anniversary event.

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However, in 1996 when celebrating Trek's 30th both DS9 and Voyager did tribute episodes to TOS, even though most of the contemporary audience would have been more familiar with TNG. The 40th was celebrated by converting TOS to HD. And the 50th will likely be celebrated with a new movie which will adapt a storyline TOS did.

But DW unlike ST is a show about one character the Doctor, sure the face might change and the personality to some degree but at the end of the day it's still the same core show

Mad Man with a blue box travels through time and space with companions fighting evil/injustice.

You also have to bear in mind that in the UK, DW is a mainstream show. Besides the 2005- era has looked back to previous Doctors there is no reason to thing we won't get more referrenes to the 1963-1989 era.

Isn't it really convinient, though, that Hurt's Doctor wears a combination of the Eighth and Ninth's costumes? Just saying - I don't remember, for instance, the Third Doctor wearing Second's pants and the Fourth's scarfs and/or hat, is all.

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Yes, it's almost like they're making too much of an obvious effort at 'bridging the gap'.

Having said that, I think it could work if the Hurt Doctor was shown to have been created as a sort of stopgap. I like the idea that maybe the timelords have forced a regeneration on the Doctor so he will do their bidding and this one doesn't have as fully formed a personality as others. Of course, I'm probably totally off the mark...

The Stig, regardless wether you believe Tennant/Piper are an important part of the celebration, and regardless wether you see the need to bring in Classic Who actors, DalekJim is correct about the Anniversary celebrating An Unearthly Child. This is the 50th Anniversary, so, it absolutely is celebrating the first episode, there is no denying that, it's a simple fact.

There would be no danger whatsoever to the ratings to include William Russel. Ian could easily be in the thing without confusing the General Audience, who may or may not know who Ian is. It would take very little, no more than seconds or a minute to fill in who he is

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Certainly. If the new series could bring in Sarah Jane Smith in "School Reunion" with a minimum of confusion, I don't know why they couldn't do the same with Ian. Heck, maybe Ian gets lucky and gets his own spin-off next.

Come to think of it, look at The Sarah Jane Adventures. That's a show who's target audience wasn't even born yet when the original series went off the air in 1989. And yet the lead was a companion on the show in the mid-1970s and it often seemed to do a better job of bringing in old guest stars than the new Doctor Who has. Both Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and Jo Grant made their reappearances on The Sarah Jane Adventures. (And RTD mentioned once that, had the show lasted longer, he might have eventually brought back Ace too, possibly including a Sylvester McCoy flashback cameo where we see Ace leaving the 7th Doctor.)

Besides, anniversary specials are the appropriate time for self-indulgent fan-wankery!

The anniversary celebrates Doctor Who, not the episode that happened to air that day, any more than a Trek anniversary is overtly concerned about honoring 'Where No Man Has Gone Before' or, alternately, 'The Cage.' No one is going to be particularly interested in the idea of Number One or Doctor Piper appearing in an anniversary event.

In any case, we're going in circles. I'm not of the opinion that the original Doctor Who series is:
1) Any good.
2) Worth remembering, beyond little easter eggs that don't require me to actually watch any of the old episodes.
3) Beloved by any number of fans large enough to care about.

Since you and DJ think otherwise, we're unlikely to come to any kind of consensus.

Click to expand...

I'm a "new era" fan too, since 2005. And while the episodes of the Classic series didn't awe me in any way and the 10 or so that I've seen (episodes, not stories) have been boring and cheesy, further convincing me that Classic Era fans look back with a really high index pair of rose-tinted glasses, I have to say that this is the 50th Anniversary and they should celebrate IT ALL. All of it. That means going back to the beginning and pre-2005. It's only right to.

If he is indeed in it, I hope they stick with the 8th Doctor's current look:

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Why would anybody prefer this over his original?

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For one, Paul McGann hated the wig he had to wear in the movie and he developed the above costume himself. I say go with what the actor is most comfortable with.

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Jeans, a leather jacket and a satchel don't take a lot of "developing" when tens of thousands of people wear that look every day. Losing the wig he hated, sure. But I'd prefer seeing him wearing something a little less everyday contemporary Earth.

Yeah, it's too plain a look for me. I like my alien time travelers to dress weird. The fact he's pointing his sonic like a weapon at the camera like they do in New Who stills is flat out embarrassing. It's Paul McGann cosplaying as the Ninth Doctor.